KALYAN: Routine medical services at the KDMC-run Shastrinagar Hospital in Dombivli remained suspended on Tuesday after doctors and nurses launched a protest against the alleged assault on hospital staff by relatives of a pregnant patient and Shiv Sena corporator Ramesh Mhatre.Emergency services, however, continued uninterrupted.According to hospital officials, the incident occurred late on Monday night when 33-year-old Priyanka Ugmale, a resident of the Kopar Road area, was admitted to the hospital.The woman, who was nine months pregnant, was diagnosed with two loops of the umbilical cord around the foetus, following which doctors planned a lower segment caesarean section (LSCS).Hospital sources said doctors anticipated that the newborn might require admission to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) after delivery.However, as the hospital’s NICU was full, the medical team began exploring alternative arrangements for the baby.Meanwhile, the patient’s relatives allegedly contacted Shiv Sena corporator Ramesh Mhatre, who arrived at the hospital and entered into an argument with the treating doctors over the delay in treatment.During the altercation, Mhatre allegedly assaulted nurses, a doctor and the attending gynaecologist.Doctors subsequently shifted the patient to KDMC-run Vasant Valley Maternity Hospital, where the caesarean section was performed and the newborn was admitted to the NICU for observation.Following the incident, doctors and nurses staged a work boycott on Tuesday morning, suspending routine outpatient and other non-emergency services.They demanded strict legal action against all those involved in the assault, including Mhatre, stating that violence against healthcare workers cannot be tolerated.The Indian Medical Association also condemned the attack and urged the authorities to take stringent action against the accused.Hospital staff alleged that Mhatre had earlier been involved in an assault on doctors at Shastrinagar Hospital and claimed that despite the latest incident, the hospital administration was considering registering a case only against the patient’s relatives.They demanded that Mhatre also be named as an accused in the FIR.As part of their protest, doctors and hospital staff have gathered at KDMC headquarter to met KDMC Commissioner Abhinav Goel, urging him to ensure that a case is registered against the corporator and that strict action is taken against everyone responsible for the assault.Shastrinagar Hospital’s Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Sadiya Pinjari, said that while routine services had been temporarily suspended as part of the staff protest, emergency medical services continued to function normally.She added that the matter will be reported to the police and further action would be taken following the investigation.